


Ways To Articulate

by bluelimsa



Category: Cyborg 009 VS Devilman, Devilman (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Crushes, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-29 00:23:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13915422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluelimsa/pseuds/bluelimsa
Summary: Akira is oblivious, Ryo is emotionally constipated, and Miki is helpful.009 VS Devilman - verse





	Ways To Articulate

**Author's Note:**

> for my friends who were thirsty for 009 ryoakira. here's something lighthearted after my last fic!!

Akira fidgets in his seat.

Next to him – Ryo - who is oblivious, rambles on about trigonometry as he drives. The radio is playing softly in the background and his deep voice is more animated than usual as he launches into yet another explanation.

Normally, Akira would be happy to listen - even if he doesn’t exactly follow most of Ryo’s big words - but now he can’t bring himself to focus. His eyes keep glancing at his best friend’s face; his sharp profile, the slope of his nose, those angular cheeks, then to his hands, and back and forth. It’s a good thing Ryo isn’t looking at him – Akira can’t imagine what emotion must be showing on his face. He catches his own reflection in the car mirror and winces – _yep, way to look like a deer caught in the headlights, Fudo._ He mentally kicks himself.

Ryo is still talking.

Akira takes a deep breath and shoves his sweaty palms inside his pockets. _Deer in the headlights._ Well, that’s definitely a good way to describe the way he’s been around Ryo these past two weeks, he thinks.

Akira sighs. He never used to be so hyper-aware of his best friend. His devilman senses make it all the more unbearable. He can be ten feet away from Ryo and still hear his heartbeat as if it was next to his ears, can pick out his voice from a crowd, can even recognize his _scent_ from a distance. They’ve been around each other long enough that it’s become intimately familiar. Akira groans inwardly at his predicament.

It’s awful, it’s annoying, and it’s all _Miki’s_ fault.

She had started it all.

***

“Spending the night at Ryo’s again?”

“Huh?” Akira pauses tying he shoelaces and lifts his head. ”Well, yeah. Wait, what do you mean by ‘ _again_ ’?”

Miki looks over the magazine she’s reading and her expression is smug. “It’s the third time this week, isn’t it? You sure do spend a lot of time with him. Almost as if…” she breaks off, pretending to be deep in thought. “He was your boyfriend!” She giggles.

Akira splutters. “ _Miki!_ ”

She only laughs harder.

Akira huffs, looking away. Something like irritation pricks in his chest at Miki’s implication. He’s used to Miki’s teasing – it’s not the first time she’s implied something similar, after all. But it was getting tiring. “That’s not funny, you know. There’s nothing wrong with spending time with my best friend.”

“Oh, I was being serious though,” Miki says, suddenly all too sober.

“Eh?!”

She rolls her eyes. “You really are dense, aren’t you, Akira?” She shakes her head in mock sadness, leans her face into her palm. “Poor, poor Ryo.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Miki gives a huge exasperated sigh and jumps to her feet. “When will you realize that he LIKES you, dummy!” She puts her hands on Akira’s shoulders and shakes him.

Akira opens his mouth but she slaps her hand over it before he can say anything. “And no, not as in the ‘best friends’ platonic type of way. I mean – he obviously has a crush on you!”

Akira’s eyes widen and his mouth hangs open. He tries to form words but then shakes his head, takes a step back. “No, no, you’re crazy. That can’t be…”

Miki crosses her arms over her chest and raises an eyebrow. “Oh? And why not?”

Akira flails his arms, tries to find the right words. “Well, I’ve known him forever and I’m always with him so I would’ve noticed if he - you know,” he reddens, “felt that way about me.” He chokes.

Miki rubs her temples. Her voice, when she speaks, has the tone of a tired parent at the end of her patience. “Akira.”

Akira thinks she looks scary when she’s serious.

“One, you’ve said it yourself - you are _always_ together. You hang out way too much for a couple of besties, don’t you think? Remember that time when I left my phone at home and you let me borrow yours? He sent you like fifty texts in ONE day!”

Akira looks sheepish. “That doesn’t..! I mean, so what? He was probably bored? It’s not that unusual.”

“Akira, he has a full-time job! He can be doing a million other things but he chooses to text you all day! You only text this much to a person you have a crush on and can’t stop thinking about!”

Akira spreads his hands. “Now, wait a minute! Ryo and I are childhood friends so of course we’re close. He probably thinks of us as family – he’d said so himself!”

Miki levels him with a dubious look. “Oh, really?”

Ryo hadn’t exactly called him _family_ , Akira thinks. But he does remember asking him if he missed his home in America, and Ryo – pushing his glasses back with an index finger and not even looking up from the computer screen – saying: “ _What do you mean? Home is here - where you are, Akira._ ”

Akira hadn’t known what to say then. He remembers feeling flustered and strangely happy. “ _Aw, buddy, I’ve missed you too!_ ” He had laughed, throwing his arms around his best friend’s shoulders.

He doesn’t know what to say now either so he moves on. “Besides, if he really wanted to date someone he could literally have anyone he wanted, Miki! Why would he ever be interested in _me?_ Back when he still went to school with us, he’d have every girl swooning over him! Even now, I get random girls asking me about him!” He admits with some annoyance.

Miki continues looking unimpressed.

“Look, Ryo’s the smartest person I know. Not to mention, he’s cool, _good-looking_ , and rich! Trust me, Miki, there’s no way he’d be interested in someone like me.”

“Oh, yeah? Akira, in all the time you’ve known him, do you ever remember Ryo having a girlfriend? Or even being interested in anyone?”

“I-“ Akira stops and thinks. “…no,” he admits quietly. “But -“

“Aaaand!” She interrupts. “We both know that he missed his own prom just so that he could drive you to the airport when your parents were visiting. Plus - _ugh_ \- the way he always looks at you? Akira! If that doesn’t scream ‘true love’ I don’t know what does!”

Slowly, Akira’s doubts start to crumble like sand. He flounders for an explanation but after five minutes of wide-eyed silence, gives up. He sighs and purposefully doesn’t acknowledge Miki’s look of triumph. “At a loss for words, huh Fudo?”

Akira glares. “No! T-that still doesn’t prove anything but –”, he glances around the room, suddenly eager to leave. “I gotta go now or else I’ll be late.” He waves and begins to walk away. “We can finish arguing some other time.”

“De-flectiiing~,” Miki singsongs under her breath.

Akira is about to point out that he isn’t - _thank you very much_ \- when a loud honk makes them both jump.

Miki’s expression turns from surprise to one of smugness. She glances out the window. There’s a familiar car parked in front of their house.

Miki locks eyes with an increasingly embarrassed Akira.

She smirks.

“He’s here.”

***

Miki doesn’t even have the decency to look up when Akira suddenly bursts into her room, hours later, and collapses face-first on her bed in defeat.

“I take it it didn’t go well?”

Akira groans.

Miki flips a page. “So, what’s wrong? I thought you were supposed to spend the night at Ryo’s.”

Akira mutters something unintelligible into the mattress.

Miki sighs and stands up. She tucks the magazine under her arm and grabbing Akira’s ankle, easily throws him off the bed.

He lands with a yelp. “Ouch! What was that for?!”

He rubs his arm, looking dejected and on the verge of tears. Miki rolls her eyes, refusing to feel sorry for him. It’s interrogation time.

“Come on, Fudo. Get yourself together and tell me what happened. Why did you run away?”

Akira glares. “I didn’t –“, he stops. Hangs his head. “I ran away,” he realizes in a miserable voice.

Miki joins him on the floor. Looks at his slumped shoulders. “Any idea why?”

Akira shrugs. “No! It’s just… After what you said, I-I couldn’t stop thinking about it! “ He leans against the bed frame and looks at the ceiling. “I couldn’t look him in the eye, Miki, and not think of – of _that_ conversation.”

Miki smiles sweetly. “So you admit that I was right, after all?”

Akira only sighs. “I admit that – it’s a _possibility_.”

Miki claps her hands together. “Great! So what are you going to do about it?”

“What can I do? Nothing, of course!”

Miki looks at him as if he’s crazy. “What do you mean ‘nothing’? You can’t just ignore it! You have to confess your feelings, ask him on a date, sweep him off his feet -”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on! I never said… I-I don’t want things to change – I’m fine with just being friends…” The alternative is just too scary to think about. It makes his stomach twist into knots, his chest tight.

Akira thinks Miki looks disappointed, a little angry even. He gulps.

“You are an _idiot_ , Akira Fudo. Even bigger than Asuka.” She stands up. “I won’t help you until you figure out how you really feel and what you really want from me.” She pushes a bewildered Akira out of her room. “Don’t come back until then.”

The door slams in his face.

***

A week passes.

Akira doesn’t come knocking again. All things considered, everything seems relatively normal.

Miki knows that's not really the case when she receives a text from an unknown number.

‘ _We need to talk. Meet me at the P coffee shop tomorrow, noon sharp. R. Asuka_ ’

There is another text with the address of the location and nothing else.

Annoyed, Miki adds his number to her contacts and shoots off a quick ‘ _K_ ’.

She can't help but feel a little apprehensive though. Something must really be wrong if he's reaching out to her of all people.

Miki's admittedly never been the biggest fan of Ryo Asuka but she’s doing this for Akira, she reminds herself.

She'll do all she can to help.

***  
“He’s avoiding you?”

Across from her, Ryo nods. His glasses sit slightly crooked on his nose ( _since when does he wear glasses???_ ) and his whole demeanor radiates weariness. There’s none of his usual primness - his eyes are bloodshot and there are dark circles under them. He is on his third cup of coffee.

She doesn’t comment on it but catches herself feeling sorry for the man. Especially since she’s pretty sure she knows the cause of his distress.

“I have tried everything I could possibly think of to find out what is wrong. Every time, he changes the subject or finds an excuse to leave my presence.”

Ryo sighs, rubs the bridge of his nose tiredly. “As such, I must conclude that the problem lies with _me_.”

“How can you be so sure of that? Maybe he just has a lot on his plate? Oooor after-school study sessions? Really, it can be anything. We are approaching exam season, you know.” Miki knows she’s bullshitting - Akira never cared that much for his grades, but she can’t help but ask.

“He won’t answer my texts or return my calls,” Ryo blurts out a little desperately. He stiffens and looks slightly shocked with himself but composes quickly, clears his throat. “The point is - you two are close and you know him better than anyone. Thus, I was wondering if you knew what could be bothering Akira and why he doesn’t wish to see me anymore.”

Miki frowns at her own cup. She can’t tell him the truth, can she? But she doesn’t want to lie to the poor guy either. What to do?

“Well, if you ask me –”

“Miki? Ryo?!”

They both freeze. All color drains from Ryo’s face.

Miki slowly looks over her shoulder.

“Akira… Hi!!! Fancy meeting you here!”

He’s standing there with a milkshake in his hand, looking between the two of them with wide eyes. “What are you guys...doing here...together?”

He frowns, then forces a smile. “Hey, I’m happy you two are hanging out but why wasn’t I invited?”

Miki’s heart aches at the hurt in his voice. Akira’s never been good at hiding his emotions. She tries to rescue the situation: “Don’t be silly, Akira, of course you can -“

Ryo curses under his breath and stands up, interrupting her.

“Akira. It’s not what it looks like.”

Akira looks at him and his fake-smile disappears, expression growing colder. Miki thinks she sees Ryo flinch.

“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything,” Akira shrugs. “I’ll let you get back to it. Don’t wanna interrupt you two.” He starts walking away. “I’ll see you at home, Miki. You two have fun.”

“Akira...” She sighs.

“Akira, wait!”

Not even a moment later Ryo is flying out the door, leaving behind his coat and belongings. Miki watches him run after Akira and catch him by the elbow. Akira whirls around and yeeep, they’re arguing. Miki doesn’t think she remembers ever seeing them fight and it is pretty unsettling to see. She can’t hear what they’re saying but she has a good idea. Ryo’s posture is tense and defensive and Akira looks like he’s about to let out the waterworks at any time – and there it is.

Miki groans and bangs her head against the table.

“Boys are such idiots.”

Briefly, she considers going out there and breaking up the argument but refrains. This is probably something they need to sort out on their own. If only they could get their stupid heads out of their –

“Excuse me, miss, are you done with that?” A shy voice breaks through her thoughts. She raises her head and meets the eyes of a beautiful red-haired angel hovering over her nervously.

Miki blinks and smiles sweetly.

Suddenly the boys are all forgotten. 

 

Later, as she’s leaving the coffee shop with Mikiko’s phone number in hand, she spots the two of them. They haven’t moved much from the spot but at least they’re no longer arguing.

They’re _hugging_.

She smiles.

***

That evening Akira finally musters up the courage to knock on Miki’s door.

It flies open instantly and Miki is there, a knowing look on her face. “So?”

“We made up.”

“And?”

Akira fidgets. “I – uh – I need your help.”

“With?” Miki is clearly enjoying this.

Akira groans.

“Ryo.” His face heats up and he bows his head, clasps his hands in front of him. “I need your advice, Oh Wise One. Help me win his heart!”

Akira hears Miki mutter a quick ‘finally’ before she's grabbing him by the arm and dragging him inside.

She forcefully sits him down and then stands in front of him, her eyes alight with glee.

“Ok, Akira, here’s what you do.”

***

“Uh-huh, yeah. Ok.” Akira hopes his voice isn’t shaky.

They’ve been driving for half an hour but it feels like an eternity. Akira tries to summon his courage and prepare himself, remembering Miki’s words. He had chickened out on doing this yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. He kept postponing until Miki had to come into his room and (forcefully) knock some sense into him again.

He clenches his fists. He can do it. And it has to be _today_. No more stalling.

Beside him, Ryo sighs. “I know this topic can be complicated so don’t fault yourself for that grade, Akira. If you need a tutor, you are welcome to drop by any time. Just say the word and I will clear my schedule.”

Akira looks over and his heart gives an annoying little lurch. His best friend, whom he’d nearly lost a week ago because of his own stupidity. Akira’s glad they’d made up – he can’t imagine what his life would be like without Ryo in it.

Even though Ryo still doesn’t know the whole truth of _why_ he’s avoided him in the first place, he’d been so eager to make up that he easily accepted Akira’s half-assed excuse and his apology. The tears probably helped too. Akira winces. _God, he’s so pathetic sometimes_.

He pushes away self-depreciating thoughts and clears his throat. “You… I mean it’s okay, Ryo. Really. But uh thanks? I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ryo finally looks over.

Akira gulps.

“We’re here.”

“Huh?” Akira's head whips around. They’ve stopped in front of his place. “Oh.” _It’s now or never, Akira_.

Nervously he undoes his seat belt and turns, pretends to fiddle with the car's door handle. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow. Thanks for the ride, Ryo.”

He lightly shoves his weight against the door and gasps dramatically. “Oi, Ryo, I can’t get out – I think the handle is jammed!”

“Hmm? That’s odd. Let me have a look.”

Akira feels rather than sees Ryo lean over and counts to three. His pulse thunders in his ears. Just as he feels Ryo’s arm brush against his side, he turns and grabs the front of his turtleneck. Drags him closer.

Ryo falters and Akira feels his gasp of surprise when he kisses him.

Ryo goes still.

It’s a closed-mouth kiss - Akira's first - and he knows he's probably terrible at this. All of Miki's advice and tips for this moment go flying out the window. He doesn't know what to do exactly; if he should put his arms around Ryo's neck, or tilt his head, or ask Ryo if he likes it?

His heart racing like crazy, he starts to pull away. He doesn't get very far. 

It's like a switch is flipped inside of Ryo. His arms shoot out and encase Akira, pull him in again. Akira makes a tiny squeak and braces himself against Ryo's chest. And then Ryo's mouth is on his but it's nothing like before.

Ryo clutches at him a little desperately, surrounds him from all sides. It feels like he’s trying to bring Akira closer, and closer, even though they're already as close as can be.

Akira whimpers when he feels Ryo's tongue against his. How is he so good at _everything?!_ Embarrassed, he feels his face heat up even more. God, he's really out here acting like some lady out of Miki's favorite dramas. 

But he has no complaints when Ryo's hand guides him to a better angle. Akira goes willingly, completely melting in his embrace.

Akira doesn't know how long they go at it. Ryo's hand has woven into his hair and it doesn't seem like he wants to release him any time soon.

Akira only breaks the kiss when his lungs start screaming for air. Ryo's eyes flutter open and they both stare at each other, panting. 

In contrast to his own disheveled state Ryo looks calm, content - Akira realizes. But there is a spark in his eyes that wasn't there before. 

Akira tries to find his voice and it comes out hoarse. "I - uh. I-I think it's getting late so... I should go."

He's sitting in Ryo's lap, Akira realizes, and quickly scrambles off.

Ryo finally breaks eye contact with him and looks at the horizon. The sun is setting already. They've been here for a while. "I see."

Akira lets out a breathless laugh and runs a hand through his hair. "Yeah. But… I'll see you tomorrow?" He mentally kicks himself at how stupidly hopeful he sounds.

Ryo looks back at him and smiles, eyes crinkling at the corners. He leans forward and kisses Akira's cheek. "Of course."

Akira feels his traitorous heart jump. "Great!" he squeaks.

"Goodnight, Akira."

"Bye, Ryo."

Stumbling, he gets out of the car and waves one last goodbye. He makes his way home on wobbly legs - looking back over his shoulder at every other step. Ryo watches him all the while, reclined in his seat. Akira only hears him drive away once he is inside.

As soon as the front door closes behind him he drops his school bag and collapses against it, still in a daze.

He hears loud footsteps and Miki comes barreling down the stairs, yelling: “Akira, you idiot! You should’ve invited him in!!!” But she looks elated and throws her arms around his neck as soon as she’s beside him. “I’m so proud of you!” She pats his head like a child’s and Akira whines. 

“Forget fighting demons – _this_ is the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Hey it only took you seven tries but it was worth it, right? At least you got a boyfriend out of it. An eccentric one sure but hey, there’s no accounting for taste.”

 

The next morning Ryo shows up on their doorstep with _flowers_ in his arms and a slightly embarrassed expression as he asks to drive Akira to school today and Akira thinks: ‘ _Yep, definitely worth it._ ’

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't actually finished watching cyborg 009 vs devilman so I hope the personalities aren't too off. fun fact: I thought 009 ryo was kind of ugly at first but somehow he's grown on me and now I'm stupidly fond of their twinkswapped designs.
> 
> Please forgive all the POV shifts btw I was trying to experiment more with my style. And as always, thank you for reading!!


End file.
